The head of the International Energy Agency said on Monday that while the world has ample oil to meet demand, Opec has to remain "flexible" should conditions change. Oil ministers from members of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries are to meet on December 11 in Ecuador. Several member states have said there is unlikely to be a change in production quotas at the meeting.
IEA Executive Director Nobuo Tanaka said there is sufficient oil on world markets, especially as demand is expected to fall next year. "So if Opec continues its current level of production, the oil market is very well supplied," he told reporters in Cancun, Mexico at the sideline of the global climate talks. But he said he hoped Opec will remain flexible if economic conditions change. "But we wish Opec will make a quick, flexible decision in any moment in the future," he said.